Stephanie Bryan Making Connections 1: Physical Development The adolescent brain is still developing, and does not function

in the same way as a fully developed adult brain. Research on different areas of the brain reveal these differences, and provide some insight to why adolescents think and act the way they do. During adolescence, social-emotional and pleasure-seeking systems develop early on (Monastersky, 2007; Price, 2005). Adolescent brains actually show more of a reaction to reward and pleasure than adult brains do. As a result, adolescents are much more inclined to seek out pleasure especially because adolescents require more stimulation to experience the same level of pleasure as adults (Price, 2005). Despite the fact that these systems are developed, other important areas of the brain remain undeveloped. The plasticity of this developing brain makes it particularly vulnerable to addiction (Monastersky, 2007). Systems related to cognition and judgment, including the prefrontal cortex, also take longer to mature than the social-emotional systems. Even when both adults and adolescents are capable of performing a task that requires the prefrontal cortex, adolescent brains struggle more. While adults use many parts of the brain, adolescents lack the connections necessary to do that, and as a result the task is more difficult for them. (Monastersky, 2007). This lack of connections also contributes to an inability for adolescents to control their impulses the same way adults do. Behavioral control is only fully developed once synaptic pruning and myelination, two processes that occur during adolescence, are completed (Price, 2005).

Adolescents also lack a warning system that adults have in the anterior cingulate cortex (Monastersky, 2007). While an adult brain recognizes an error even before a person is consciously aware of it, the adolescent brain allows errors to go by unnoticed. All of these factors combine to lead to a higher likelihood of dangerous behavior in adolescents than in adults. When teaching adolescents, it is important to recognize the differences between teenage brains and adult brains. In the article, Inside Amys Brain, by Marilee Sprenger, Amy (a teenage girl) encounters several teachers throughout her school day. Some of them cater to the needs of the adolescent brain, while others do not. Her first teacher, for example, does not provide enough stimulation for the early-morning class. Adolescent brains already need more stimulation than adult brains, and in the morning the adolescent brain is still bathed in the sleep chemical melatonin (Sprenger, 2005). Adolescents also respond well to activities that emphasize their emotions, socialization, new situations, and physical activity. Incorporating these aspects into teaching helps to engage the students in their learning. In my own adolescence, I can see how my social-emotional and pleasureseeking systems overrode my less-developed cognitive systems. If my parents said I could not go somewhere with my friends, I would impulsively overreact perhaps due to the lack of behavioral control that is often found in adolescents. I put too much emphasis on an opportunity to be social and the immediate rewards I would get by being able to do something fun. I would get unnecessarily angry with my parents, not using judgment to control my own emotions in that situation.

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